US Congress, Justice &
Intelligence Correspondent
Democratic frontrunners vie
for a lead as US presidential campaign rhetoric intensifies.
Tensions between Democratic
presidential frontrunners Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are intensifying.
At rallies and events around
Charleston, South Carolina - where the fourth Democratic debate was held on
Sunday night - supporters openly tried to outshout one another with their
pledges of loyalty.
It was an indication of just
how tight this competition has become.
Shortly after announcing her
intention to run for president, Clinton appeared to be the inevitable
Democratic presidential nominee with little competition.
Increasingly, though, this
lead has slipped away, making 2016 look more and more like 2008, when Clinton
lost the nomination to a then relatively unknown US senator, Barack Obama.
Clinton and her supporters are
working hard to make sure that doesn't happen again. As Clinton has watched her
lead narrow in Iowa and disappear in New Hampshire, the attacks between the
campaigns have become increasingly personal.
Clinton's statements and press
releases in recent days have been carefully crafted to portray her as the
candidate with the most foreign policy experience, who will be ready to take
over in the Oval Office on day one.
She's also sharpened her
attacks on Sanders' past positions on gun control, criticising him for voting
previously against a bill that would have held gun manufacturers responsible to
crimes committed by weapons sold legally.
It's been an attempt to
portray the Vermont senator, who represents a sizable rural population of
hunters and sportsmen, as being "pro-gun" even though Sanders has
said repeatedly that he is in favour of enhanced restrictions - such as
increased background checks - to ensure responsible gun use.
Although Clinton is facing
tough competition in both Iowa and New Hampshire, she still has a sizable lead
in national polls and scores highly with conservative and older Democrats,
along with voters of colour.
Still, Sanders has captured
the support of some of the same Democrats who came out strongly for President
Obama in 2008 - young people looking for change.
While Clinton has sold herself
as the candidate best poised to carry on the work started by Obama, Sanders has
promised to implement further moves left - more socialist economic policies
that appeal to young Americans who feel forgotten by the stagnant US economy.
Sanders has pledged, if
elected to the White House, to work to overcome massive income inequality in
the United States.
He's promising to expand
healthcare and college opportunities for all Americans. He says he would break
up the major banks and tax Wall Street corporations, many of which it's
reported have donated heavily in the past to Clinton.
It's a message from Sanders
that resonates with younger Americans who feel they have been left behind in
the modern global economy.
With memories of 2008 on their
minds, the Clinton campaign seems determined not to let history repeat itself
with less than two weeks until the first presidential nominating contest in
Iowa.
Clinton supporters are working
to ensure that a once-inevitable lead does not slip away. That's why one can
expect the Democrat discourse and debate on the 2016 campaign trail to get a
lot less cordial.
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